Teamwork, Teamwork, Teamwork makes the Dream Work, Dream Work, Dream Work

 Repeatedly working with the same partner or group in a collaborative space hinders learning potential. During the fall semester, I took Chem 1211 lab and after the first week of school my lab partner dropped the class. During the second week of class and throughout the rest of the semester I was paired with anyone without a partner for our allotted class period. Although having the same lab partner throughout the semester would have resulted in me getting into a collaborative and swift rhythm with my lab partner, after some thought, I am glad that I worked with different partners throughout the semester. Working with many different lab partners allowed me to experience several ways of completing the lab. Some people liked to work each step one at a time as a pair, while some would rather divvy out the procedure. A few people preferred to work the calculations out during the lab period, while others preferred doing them at home. Sampling different ways of completing my chemistry lab helped me generate my strategy for completing labs. If I had stayed comfortable with the same lab partner throughout the semester I wouldn’t have developed the number of strategies that I did when working with numerous people. 

“Making Teamwork Work,” says, “Building relationships with teammates and knowing something about each of them a person helps produce a better outcome,” (Reifenberg). I agree with this statement and to add to the sentiment, I believe the more relationships you form with different people the better the teammate you will be. Tapping into different people's strategies and life experiences can help you to work efficiently and work out difficulties like the ones mentioned in “Coping with Hitchhikers and Couch Potatoes on Teams”. In “Coping with Hitchhikers and Couch Potatoes on Teams” it says, “Set your limits early and high,” (Cornell University). This process can be significantly simpler when you have worked in groups of many different people. Working with people and having conflict can introduce you to a limit you should start setting. For example, if you are working with someone and you later realize that they could care less what grade they get on the project when you want an A, then you might learn that in your next group project, you should make it clear to the group the grade you desire. 

In all classes, starting from primary school, teachers should have students change the groups they work in several times throughout the year. Learning about different perspectives can make you an efficient team member and generally a more well-informed and cognizant human being.

Works Cited

Cornell University. “Coping with Hitchhikers and Couch Potatoes on Teams.” CS 3110 Fall 2018, 2018, https://www.cs.cornell.edu/courses/cs3110/2018fa/teams/hitchhikers.html. 

Reifenberg, Steve. “Making Teamwork Work.” Inside Higher Ed, 7 Apr. 2021, https://www.insidehighered.com/advice/2021/04/07/how-help-students-work-more-effectively-teams-opinion.